Tranferring MiniDV tape copntent to Desktop Computer

[Marino]

I have tons of MiniDV tapes that I would like to work with on my PC Desktop; however, my computer doesn't seem to have a 6 pin firewire port.

Can anyone tell me what my most practical option is? Thanks.

[davexnet]

Just purchase a PCI firewire card.

[Marino]

Any recomendations? Once I purchase the firewirecard, will it come with a program for editing? If not, what do you recommend? I've read about WinDV but it seems to be dated info as I can't seem to find the download for Windows 7.

[davexnet]

See this post, seems as if WinDV works fine in Win 7:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/332858-Looking-for-Win7-software-to-capture-AV-DV-v...ighlight=windv

Firewire card does not come (usually) with any software.
The type of editing you want to do will determine your software needs.

[aedipuss]

even after buying an ieee1394 card you will still need to purchase editing software. vegas pro, and premiere pro are among the best for windows, but how much had you wanted to spend???

[Marino]

I have hardly no experience with video editing so it's more a question of what would be the easiest to learn.

I'm also still trying to determin if WinDV is a viable option or not. I guess it's somewhat dated but it might be all I need.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

[edDV]

I have hardly no experience with video editing so it's more a question of what would be the easiest to learn.

I'm also still trying to determin if WinDV is a viable option or not. I guess it's somewhat dated but it might be all I need.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

WinDV is fine for "capture". What you are doing is moving the data from your DV tapes to a file. There is no loss if done correctly. Data doesn't care about date.

DV is high quality and frame by frame so be prepared for 13 GB per hour.

The format is ideal for editing. Compression is applied after editing.

[zoobie]

WinDV is fine...a simple ap using little resources...and is all you need
I'd suggest an entry level editor like Vegas Movie Studio which has one of the biggest bangs for the buck

[Marino]

Firstly, I apologize for being so dense.

So, what I gather is that capturing is one issue (for which WinDV apparently works well) and editing is another issue.

Do any of the editing software programs do both (or maybe they all do it - I don't know)? It doesn't seem feasible to have to capture with one program then edit with another.

While writing this I noticed you posed about Vegas Movie Studio so I'll check that out...thanks again.

[edDV]

Vegas includes a capture program but it is multi-format, requires configuration and confusing to to novice. WinDV is DV focused and difficult to screw up for the newbie (no offense).

There is no difference in the quality. It is just moving bits.

WinDV is a user GUI on top of Windows DirectShow. ... Now I'm confusing you, sorry.

[Marino]

Non taken, thanks for your explanation/recommendation.

While looking inot Vegas I noticed I can download from Author/Developer site which sends me to Sony offering Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 for $94.95 or from author site (direct link) which prompts a File Download - Security Warning and (I guess) the option to download for what...free? What do you recommend?

[aedipuss]

you can download vegas products for free, they will be a "trial" that expires in 30 days iirc. after that you will need to purchase. movie studio hd is fine for most things.

[Marino]

thanks aedipuss

[edDV]

WinDV is free. It will handle your capture needs.

New Vegas Platinum 10 is HDV/AVCHD focused. Nice but you don't need it for SD DV.

If you are $ challenged, older versions are fine for DV.